Malaysian Gooner

Last night Samir Nasri updated his Facebook status telling the world that he was leaving Arsenal soon but with “bitterness” due to the chants at Newcastle last weekend. That was of course until Nasri posted on twitter that the facebook page was a fake.

"I'm gonna get paid triple what you get at Barca"

However, it does still seem likely that Nasri will be leaving the club for a reported £22m fee. The offer had been put forth by Man City as early as June although we have delayed accepting the fee in the hope to either convince Samir to stay or to find a suitable replacement.

It’s been well documented that we tried to sign Juan Mata from Valencia only for that to fall through. The reason given in the Spanish press is that while our initial £14m intrigued Valencia; when a deadline in a clause of Mata’s contract had passed as of August 1st, Valencia demanded double the original offer.

Now I don’t know if Wenger telling everyone that he’s not signing Mata is a smokescreen but what I do know is that if Nasri is sold, we will have around £50m to spend on new players, and 13 days to spend it. For once, the overused headline of Wenger having a ‘war chest’ will actually be true.

I have pinpointed certain positions that need players such as centre-back, left-back, central midfield and also up front. The reason why I haven’t chosen to replace Nasri on the left is because I believe with Theo, Gervinho, Arshavin and Oxlade-Chamberlain we have 4 wide players that can play on either wing. Of course, Arshavin only has a year left on his contract but for now I’ll live with the assumption that he will renew.

I’ve also weeded out outrageous signings that seem unlikely such as the aforementioned Mata and also Eden Hazard who would not only cost an arm and a leg but Lille have also said they will not sell him this summer after losing both Gervinho and Yohan Cabaye.

This are the names I’ve come up with:

Keisuke Honda

Versatile midfielder who can play in the centre of midfield, in ‘the hole’ as well as up front. Arsene Wenger has had his eyes on Honda since the World Cup and perhaps finally the Frenchman will have the funds to buy the Japanese star. Tactically, Honda makes sense as well. His eye for a good pass and attacking prowess makes him a possible replacement for Cesc while his ability to play up front makes him a good back up for Robin van Persie.

Youtube video of Honda.

Jadson

I have to admit I do not know much about Jadson, I’ve only watched him in a handful of games but he has been widely reported to be on Wenger’s radar. It is pretty obvious why he would interest Wenger though. His low centre of gravity (only 5 foot 6 inches) makes him a dangerous threat when he’s dribbling at defenders, much like Arshavin. Comparisons with Cesc will of course be made but the Brazilian is a lot more direct with his running, something fans have been crying out for. He also can pick out a pass, although nowhere near the calibre of Cesc. At 27, Jadson is hitting the peak of his career and while not exactly the seasoned player Gooners were crying out for, will be a good signing.

Youtube video of Jadson.

A half-decent, not injury prone, Left-Back

It has taken all of one week into the new season for Kieran Gibbs to pick up his first injury. Armand Traore, his backup, inexperienced and in a season when we need our defence to hold strong, we cannot afford any weaknesses at the back. A steady, somewhat experience left-back will do. I had wanted us to sign Celtic left-back Izaguirre but the Honduran has since broken his ankle, putting him out of action for up to 6 months. Right now, anyone will do. The key to a successful season is to not play your best centre-back at left-back, Arsene.

Gary Cahill

Speaking of centre-backs, Gary Cahill has been the man on every Gooner’s lips since the day we were first linked to him. Commanding, tackler, good in the air and with Premier League experience. Exactly what fans have been screaming for. Arsene wants him too, and perhaps with the Cesc money banked in, we’ll finally be able to afford him. If anyone watched Bolton’s game at the weekend, he can take a shot too. And he’s English for all you xenophobes out there.

Youtube video of Cahill.

Now we all want Arsene to “fuckin’ spend some money”, but which players would you sign? Please post your thoughts in the comments section.

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Returning home

“It is the biggest regret that I have in my career, not to be able to lift a trophy as an Arsenal captain. It is one of the biggest regrets that I will always have.”

Those were the words of Cesc Fabregas as the prodigal son returned home to Barcelona after an 8 year affair with a North London side that made him the man he is today, and Cesc Fabregas – love him or hate him- knows that.

Cesc Fabregas joined Arsenal when we were undeniably one of the best teams in the world, if not the best. The “Invincibles” were a shining example of how football should be played while in Barcelona his hometown team had fallen off its pedestal as one of Spanish football’s elite, being overtaken by the likes of Deportivo La Caruna and Valencia in the races for league glory. When Cesc Fabregas left Barcelona at one the lowest points in the club’s history for pastures new, many saw it as treason. Cesc though, saw it as a chance for immediate first team football.

Over the next 8 years, the midfield maestro would endear himself to the Arsenal faithful. He would become the poster boy of Arsene Wenger’s crusade to win trophies with young players, whose wages were lower than seasoned professionals while their transfer value could only increase.

"I started the bad haircut trend way before Alex"

When Patrick Vieira left Arsenal for Juventus in 2005, Cesc Fabregas assumed the role primary playmaker for the club. At 18 years old, Arsene Wenger took a risk by quite literally putting a kid in the center of the park. Yet Fabregas thrived in the position and played a vital role in Arsenal’s march towards the Champions League final. In true ironic fashion, Arsenal would lose the final to Barcelona.

When Thierry Henry left Arsenal in the summer of 2007 for Barcelona, Cesc Fabregas became the centerpiece of Arsenal Football Club and began his ascendancy towards becoming one of the greats of the game.

During a period where Arsenal looked to have lost their ability to cope with their rivals, Cesc Fabregas carried Arsenal and made sure that Champions League qualification, vital in paying off stadium debt, was guaranteed. He was given the captain’s armband in 2008 to the satisfaction of both the playing staff and the fans.

Cesc would continue to mesmerize the world with his vision and creativity over the next 3 years but Arsenal’s lack of success, combined with the growing dominance of Barcelona in world football, meant that if he ever wished to play for Barcelona again, it would have to be now.

El Capitan

The rest of course is history but I will never forget Cesc Fabregas’ contribution to this club. I’ll be the first to admit that there was a point in this transfer saga when I felt, “let’s just get this over with and move on”. At one point, I even downplayed his importance to Arsenal, “he’s never won us anything anyway”.

But now that I have been able to gather my thoughts and look back at those 8 years, Cesc Fabregas will be remembered, to me at least as the “Transitional Legend“. The man who at times single-handedly (that Villa game) made sure that Arsenal were still a respectable side during one of the most turbulent times in the club’s history.

The stadium move should have been simple but the economic downturn changed that and for many years Arsenal could not compete with our rivals. Cesc Fabregas made sure we did not only keep our spot among the elite of English football but also challenged for honours.

Today he returns home, just like he said he would 8 years ago. We can all sit here and moan about how he forced us to sell him or how we didn’t get a fair deal. Or we can celebrate 8 years of magnificent skill and beautiful football from a player that at 24 years old, is already an Arsenal legend.

“They are one of the best clubs in the world. And they will keep going without me as they’ve been doing without so many big stars in the past. I wish them all the best and I will be watching them tomorrow, I will be watching them every weekend.”

Follow Malaysian Gooner on Twitter @MsianGooner as the Arsenal twitter family discusses and dissects Arsenal news 24/7.

Arsenal have been drawn against Barcelona in the last 16 of the CL again.

Draw in full

Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur
Valencia v Schalke
Inter Milan v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v Manchester United
Copenhagen v Chelsea

There will be two games on each matchday.
First Legs: February 15 & 16 and 22 & 23
Second Legs: March 8 & 9 and 15 & 16

Malaysian Gooner is launching our very own Twitter page@MsianGooner. Be sure to follow us to receive instant updates and to extend discussions to the twitterverse!

My extremely boring weekend has been lightened up by this video made by Norwegian gooners Stavanger.

The video portrays an Arsenal team (in Lego) taking on a Chelsea side (I only say that because the ‘keeper has a helmet on).

Complete with world class Samir Nasri goals and Arsenal usual capitulation after taking the lead, it is sure to make you smile.

A must watch video.

Malaysian Gooner is launching our very own Twitter page@MsianGooner. Be sure to follow us to receive instant updates and to extend discussions to the twitterverse!

Barcelona have announced a record breaking shirt sponsorship deal with Qatar Foundation worth around €30m a year. While it surprises no one that Barcelona have finally signed up a shirt sponsor, the size of the deal shows just how much Arsenal are losing yearly in the current deal with Emirates airlines.

The new home of football

Let’s make one thing very clear, I’m not blaming the board for negotiating a bad deal. At the time, £100m was record breaking and it, along with our 7 year sponsorship deal with Nike, gave us the money required to build the mega-structure this beautiful club currently occupies.

It was also a good deal for our sponsors at the time. We needed the sponsors to pay up large sums up front and in return they would get a good deal. Emirates jumped at the chance as £100m for a shirt sponsorship deal until 2014 and naming rights to the stadium until 2021 was well worth it.

As it stands, Arsenal’s current deal is similar in value to that of Fulham. Tottenham are on around £12.5 with Autonomy while United and Liverpool are on £20m each. Chelsea’s old deal with Samsung (£11m a year) and recently renewed and although the new sum is uncertain, it is believed to be worth around £18m a year.

Liverpool finished 7th last season but secured a £20m a year deal

Arsenal stand to lose about £40m in kit sponsorship revenue over the remaining three seasons of the Emirates deal. Surely Ivan Gazidis and co are considering buying out the contract, it would certainly cost less £40m (I’m no accountant, just assuming). Chelsea similarly bought out their kit deal with Umbro in 2005 to sign a deal with Adidas.

Of course, there is the chance that Emirates would rather renew as they would want the team that plays in ‘Emirates Stadium’ have Emirates on their shirts. Which brings us to the next point, the naming rights.

Emirates knew they got a good deal for the shirts but they felt the price they paid for the stadium naming rights were fair. The value of the naming rights is very much dependent on the stadium’s age, as Newcastle and Chelsea have found out in recent years. Once the fans get accustomed to the name, its hard to change it. Emirates will try to use that to their advantage during negotiations of the deal which expires in 2021.

They are unlikely to make a large offer but the question is should Arsenal accept the small sum Emirates will offer or will they revert to the original name of the stadium, Ashburton Grove. Finding another company to pick up the rights may not be impossible but will definitely not generate much funds as fans will not stand for constant name changes and eventually just call it Ashburton Grove. Which defeats the purpose of the naming rights all together.

So what do you guys think? Should Arsenal buyout the shirt sponsorship deal and risk losing the only company willing to make an offer on the stadium naming rights? Should Arsenal stick with Emirates and hope the airline renew the deal for a large sum? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.

Malaysian Gooner is launching our very own Twitter page @MsianGooner. Be sure to follow us to receive instant updates and to extend discussions to the twitterverse!

Follow the NLD with Malaysian Gooner in twitter at @MsianGooner! Full report after the match.

This season we have seen many difference to the style and efficiency of Arsenal’s football. You can view this piece on how Arsenal statistically are different from past seasons. While our defence certainly has a new look, it has been in attack where we have looked most different. Most of this has been down to the recruitment of Marouane Chamakh.

RvP has spent more time with on the treatment table than on the field

The Moroccan has given Arsenal an added dimension this season, a very direct new dimension. Although Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy aren’t exactly known for their crossing ability, when they do put in proper crosses it is good to know that we have an aerial threat.

Chamakh’s height also makes him a good target man away from home where we tend to get more counter-attacking opportunities. His hold up play has been very good, allowing for the likes of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas to make central runs into the box.

Some might say that we have had a similar player in Niklas Bendtner but Nik has never been our first choice striker thus the team has never been trained to play to his strengths. I will blog about Bendtner’s chances this season in another post but today I’d like to open the discussion on van Persie’s position at Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger recently talked about Chamakh’s contribution to the team here. I’d just like to pick out one quote:

Chamakh has never been a great goalscorer but, the way we play, all the strikers score here. We always go forward and you will be in the box at some stage so you will get chances.

RvP: Made of glass

This has been the point most Gooners have already known, our attacking midfielders are so good we can make average strikers look like world beaters. The question is, do we need, in the words of Myles Parmer — a BANG! BANG! striker like Robin van Persie? The truth is we just need a striker who can lead the line and finish well, as Chamakh has proven.

Also, with Arsenal’s new style suiting centre forwards with much more of a presence in the air, Wenger may just be tempted to promote Bendtner as Chamakh’s understudy. We all know that on his day Robin van Persie is world class, but ‘on his day’ is becoming a very rare occurrence  due to injuries and the amount of time it takes him to get match fit.

Despite his injuries, van Persie is one of the highest earners in the squad and would command quite a few quid in the transfer market. And with players like Jay Emmanuel-Thomas beating on the door of the first team, could this summer be the right time to cut our losses with this player who is world-class but made of glass? Post your thoughts in the comments section.

Malaysian Gooner is launching our very own Twitter page @MsianGooner. Be sure to follow us to receive instant updates and to extend discussions to the twitterverse!

Just some good humour for you…

Click to enlarge

Credit goes to @fuchsiab, hope you dont mind!

Sagna surprised that he actually scored

A good win at Goodison Park was made even better by Chelsea getting thrashed 3-0 by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge. You wouldn’t be able to tell based on the Sky commentary for the Chelsea game, continuously repeating how Man Utd’s 1 point proved very important. Earth to Sky: New big 4 (Chel, ManU, Ars, ManC) or old big 4 (replace ManC with Liv), ARSENAL WERE THE ONLY SIDE TO WIN THIS WEEKEND.

That just makes the win all the better. It also raises thoughts that if we were able to beat Newcastle or WBA at home this season, we would be top now. Many preconceived beliefs of Arsenal have been thrown out of the window this season. For good or bad you decide.

ARSENAL’S DEFENCE IS TOO WEAK

Conceding 12 goals in 13 games is probably not the best defence but it has become increasingly clear over the past two seasons that English football has become more attacking minded. We actually have the third best defence in the league behind Chelsea (8) and Man City (10). Only 6 sides have conceded one goal a game or less. Man Utd have conceded 15 in 13.

ARSENAL’S AWAY FORM IS WOEFUL, THEY DONT LIKE IT UP NORTH

That notion is definitely not true for this season. Our record of P7-W4-D2-L1 away from home is the best in the league.  And what makes it even better is that most of these results have come up north. We’ve also managed to scratch off Stamford Bridge, City of Manchester Stadium, Anfield, Goodison Park and Ewood Park off the fixture list. Add to that the draw at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland. Darren Bent’s last minute goal doesn’t seem so bad now considering they’ve just thrashed Chelsea in London.

EMIRATES STADIUM IS BECOMING A FORTRESS

Our record at home has been good in the past, but not this season. Chelsea have the best record with 6 wins and 1 loss at Stamford Bridge. Man Utd are in second with 5 wins and a draw. We are fourth having claimed 12 points (4W-2L) at home so far but to put things into perspective – Man City (3W-3D-1L), Spurs (3W-3D-1L) and Sunderland (3W-3D) also have 12 points. Stoke (4W-1D-L2) are third with 13 points. On the bright side, we have played one game less than most of these sides. The bad news, our next home game is the North London derby.

THE ‘KEEPER COSTS US TOO MANY POINTS

After Almunia’s mistake injury in the 3-2 loss to WBA, Fabianski has been brought into the side. He could do nothing about the loss at Chelsea, both Chelsea goals were not stoppable. At home to Birmingham City, he was very good in the air to stop their aerial threat in this 2-1 win. The 3-0 win at Man City could have been so different had Lucasz not made two outstanding saves from David Silva at 0-0 and 1-0.

A 1-0 win at home to West Ham was next, Fabianski made 2 good saves but the match was played more in the West Ham half. Fabianski’s mistake led to Carroll’s goal in the 1-0 loss to Newcastle but we had numerous opportunities to score that we squandered. Nonetheless, he was the difference between a draw and a loss.

Against Wolves, Fabianski was in sensational form culminating in a last minute save at 1-0. He to threw the ball out early to start a counter-attack that resulted in Arsenal’s second goal. And at Everton this weekend Fabianski made 3 great saves to prevent Everton from scoring last in the game. Cahill did score eventually in the 89th minute but it was a bit too late for a comeback. Had one of the Beckford’s (80min), Pienaar’s (83min) or Saha’s (86min) shots gone in, Everton may have had enough time to get a second.

So overall, since coming into the side, Fabianski has cost us one point. He gave us at least 2 at Man City, Wolves and Everton. So the theory that Arsenal drop points because of our ‘keepers is wrong, at least for now.

ARSENAL DON’T LIKE GETTING KICKED

Well, Arsenal probably still don’t like getting kicked. The difference this season is we suck it up and kick back. I’ve noticed that we tend to concede more ‘professional fouls’ this season, those tackles where you trip a player in order to stop the opposition from starting a counter attack. The result is of course well documented. We now have the worst record in the league in terms of fair play. And we have received 4 red cards, only 1 of which was for a reckless tackle. Song’s was for being Song and Koscielny’s two were both questionable.

Whether this collection of yellow cards will come back to haunt us later on in the season it remains to be seen.

Its important to remember though that Arsene’s most successful period at the club came when we were averaging a red card every 4 games.

We needed 11 players to give 100% to get anything out of the match today. We got 10.

Maybe Arshavin did give 100% but it wasn’t enough. His 100% is everyone else’s 60%

We showed the gap has in fact narrowed between us and Chelsea, but like Wenger said, “the team with the better defence will win”. And they did.

Arshavin was sloppy, looked out of his depth.

Diaby played an important defensive role from set pieces before he went off.

Wishere was good. Nasri as well. They didn’t deserve to lose.

Clichy’s greatest asset is his pace. If the opposition’s right winger lacks pace, Clichy becomes our best attacker.

Koscielny and Squillaci was nervy but they won’t come up against Drogba every week.

Sagna suffered a lot because he had both Cole and Ramires breathing down his neck.

Fabianski was faultless, again.

Song needs to back back to basics and focus on defending.

Chamakh needs to leave the Oscar performances to Halle Berry.

We lost, but this year wasn’t as painful as last.

More thoughts tomorrow.